Dear Colleagues,
I’ve never met a person who was unable to name the teacher(s) who had a profound impact on his/her life. The legacy of great teachers lives long beyond the time that students spend in their classrooms. This is particularly true for those of us who go on to become educators and whose work reflects the wisdom and influence of these giants in our own lives. During Teacher Appreciation Week each year, it is my hope that your influence will also include the inspiration for the best of our students to consider becoming teachers themselves in the future.
This week we also learned the very sad news of the loss of our friend and fellow educator, Cynthia Goodhue. Cynthia served as a substitute teacher, often in PE and Health classes, throughout the District and most recently was serving as a teaching assistant at the Fiske Elementary School. Cynthia also lived in Wellesley for many years and her daughters were educated in the Wellesley Public Schools. In short, Cynthia was well known both within our District and our broader community.
Appropriately, there was a tremendous turnout today at the Village Church for a moving celebration of Cynthia’s life. In listening to the many anecdotes shared both during and after the service, it is clear that Cynthia had a zest for life that was evident to everyone she met. From the rainbow on her garage, to her love of hats, to her passion for skiing and cycling, to her love for her family, Cynthia didn’t seem interested in wasting a minute of her life. And what a beautiful life it was. On behalf of a grateful community, Godspeed Cynthia Goodhue.
Enjoy the weekend and thank you for all that you do to support our students each day.
Best regards,
David Lussier
Calendar
5/18/18 Open Enrollment Deadline for Health Insurance – see below
5/23/18 School Committee Meeting – Town Hall- 6:30pm
5/24/18 Due date to request WHS Graduation Entrance Ticket
6/1/18 Gradiate Course Reimbursement Submittals Deadline
Last day of school for Students: June 20, 2018, half day
Countdown to Open Enrollment
Open enrollment for benefit eligible Town of Wellesley employees will be from April 23 through May 18th. This year, open enrollment packets will be emailed to employees through both their work and personal email addresses during the week of April vacation (April 16-20). Open enrollment packets will also be available at www.wellesleyma.gov/OpenEnrollment starting that week as well. Benefit counselors will be meeting one on one with employees to enroll them in benefits. Be on the lookout for more information.
SAT Associate Supervisors and Proctors Needed!
Associate Supervisors are needed to administer SATs for June 2, 2018. Proctors are needed to monitor the halls, direct students to their classrooms and assist the Main Office staff with running the test center, as needed. Both positions are paid positions so you will be compensated for your time.
The following positions are open:
Proctor (Hall Monitor): $100, 7:00am to 1:00pm*
Associate Supervisor (Test Proctor): $125, 6:45am to 1:00pm*
*All positions have the opportunity for early release should students arrive and complete testing early.
Please note the following:
According to College Board guidelines, Associate Supervisors and Proctors must be current or retired faculty or other professional staff of WPS or from a neighboring institution or a graduate student.
Also, according to College Board guidelines, an Associate Supervisor or Proctor cannot administer any SAT Program test that will be taken by a member of their household or immediate family at any test center NATION WIDE.
If you are interested in any or all of the dates and are eligible according to the College Board guidelines, please email Kyle Getz at getzk.
In your correspondence, please indicate which position you would be most interested in filling, as well as your current address and cell phone number. IMPORTANT: Indicating interest doesn’t guarantee a position as the number of Associate Supervisors and Proctors required to run the test center is based on the number of students testing as well as their needs. Every effort will be made to make positions available to as many people as possible.
WHS Graduation News
Wellesley High School Graduation is on Friday, June 1, 2018, Hunnewell Field, 5:00 pm. If held outside, a ticket will not be necessary. In case of rain, the graduation will be in the GYM at Wellesley High School. Any faculty and staff planning to attend the graduation must email Cheryl Rose rosec) by Thursday, May 24th, and request a ticket. Cheryl will send you the ticket and instructions by return mail.
White People Challenging Racism: Moving from Talk to Action
May 15, 2018, 4:00 – 7:00 pm – Wellesley Police Dept. Kingsbury Room
People of all heritages/identities are welcome to join us as we focus on dismantling racism and building a just society. Workshops are led by pairs of facilitators and aim to help participants gain the racial self-awareness needed for genuine participation in multiracial communities. Through readings, exercises, discussion, and real world assignments, participants’ build skills and confidence in confronting racism. We strive to keep the course timely, thought-provoking, and action-oriented. Co-facilitators: Steve Pereira and Michelle Chalmers. Additional information can be found at www.wpcr-boston.org. To register, please email Marie Cleary at mcleary@wellesleyma.gov.
Graduate Course Reimbursement
Course reimbursement funding of $30,000 is available to distribute in FY19 among qualified teachers. This funding is for graduate course work done as part of a master’s degree program to fulfill a teacher’s obligations for the Massachusetts Educators Professional License and for course work required to achieve the next stage of licensure culminating in a professional license and/or when a specialist teacher’s immediate supervisor, subject to the approval of the Assistant Superintendent, verifies that there are no further in-district courses available for recertification in that specialist’s field, that specialist may apply for tuition reimbursement. Any Unit A member for whom no DESE license exists, including but not limited to occupational and physical therapists, so long as that member maintains appropriate certification and/or licensure required to perform his or her duties, shall be eligible to apply for tuition reimbursement. To apply for this course reimbursement, please send, by no later June 1, 2018 the completed spruillv. You will be notified of the amount awarded to you sometime prior to the first paycheck in September 2018. Please note: all information must be received by June 1, 2018 or you will be disqualified for reimbursement. All courses must have occurred in the summer of 2017, fall of 2017 and spring of 2018 and have been completed by June 1, 2018. Any courses taken prior to the summer of 2017 will not be considered for reimbursement.
Insurance Benefits Information
Health and Dental Insurance Benefits information is handled by the Town Hall Benefits Office. Inquiries should be directed to Joanne Liburd at JLiburd or by calling 781-431-1019 extension 2244.
WPS Internal Job Postings on District Website
Please be aware that we added a new feature called “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website. We will post all of our internal jobs under this website tab. Therefore, you will no longer see internal job postings in the bulletin. This new way of posting will allow us to post internal positions any day of the week.